Republican legislators in Kansas have revived a proposal to stop giving voters three extra days after polls close to return mail ballots after making key concessions in a bid to get enough votes from rural GOP lawmakers to overcome the Democratic governor’s potential veto.

Republicans have argued that allowing election officials to count ballots received after Election Day undermines people’s confidence in the results, through there’s no evidence that the practice has led to fraud or serious mistakes. The Republican-controlled Legislature expects to take final votes this week on a version of the proposal drafted Monday by GOP negotiators for the House and Senate.

The push to end the “grace period” arose as election conspiracy promoters gained influence within the Kansas GOP. They have spread baseless claims that elections are rife with fraud and amplified ex-President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

  • themeatbridge
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    337 months ago

    Reminder, Republicans don’t want to count the votes because they know they are out numbered, even in the deep red states. Young voters are rejecting their bigotry and obatinate ignorance, and voting matters even if your candidate doesn’t win. When they tell you that your vote doesn’t matter, they’re only right if you believe it. Decisions are made by those who show up.

    • ivanafterall
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      87 months ago

      If you vote, your vote might not matter. If you don’t vote, it definitely won’t.

      • themeatbridge
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        77 months ago

        I like the poetry of that, but your vote always matters even if you lose. Money is allocated to races based on the results. Political alignments and platforms are written based on voter trends and exit polls.

        If you show up, your opinion matters. It’s why blue state politicians still pander to religious extremists.

    • @Cornelius_Wangenheim
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      87 months ago

      Funny thing is the attacks on mail in voting are almost certainly hurting Republicans. The two groups of people most likely to use mail in voting are the elderly and military, neither of which lean left.

      • @[email protected]
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        7 months ago

        The military breaks about even, with a slight lean conservative.

        The elderly fuck up everyone.

  • @[email protected]
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    57 months ago

    Wait, why was this ever a thing in the first place? Everywhere else I’ve seen, you must either return the ballot or have it postmarked by election day (if mailed).

    • Optional
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      57 months ago

      Forcing people to show government ID in order to vote makes sense on the face of it (until you realize who doesn’t have government ID and why) but was never the point of such laws. Believing it was is for suckers and fools.

      Kansas isn’t done beating themselves to death with republiQans.